Welcome to the Enabling Technology December 2018 Newsletter!

Merry Christmas!

We’d like to thank all our customers for your valued business. We strive to provide a first class service, and we really appreciate your support. We wish you all an enjoyable, peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

As always, we hope that you will find something of interest in our newsletter but if not, or if you have any comments or questions, just drop us a quick email and let us know. We’d be delighted to hear from you.
You can email us at: info@enablingtechnology.com or call on 01785 243111. Mark.

The ‘extreme male brain’ theory of autism has just been confirmed – but that doesn’t mean what you think it means

Two long-standing psychological theories – the empathising-systemising theory of sex differences and the extreme male brain theory of autism – have been confirmed by our new study, the largest of its kind to date. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used data on almost 700,000 people in the UK to test the theories.
The first theory, known as the empathising-systemising theory of typical sex differences, posits that, on average, females will score higher on tests of empathy than males, and that, on average, males will score higher on tests of systemising than females.

The second theory, known as the extreme male brain theory of autism, extends the empathising-systemising theory. It posits that autistic people will, on average, show a shift towards “masculinised” scores on measures of empathy and systemising. In other words, they will score below average on empathy tests, but score at least average, or even above average, on systemising tests.

Care charges are driving disabled people into debt, says report
Charging disabled people for their care and support is driving many of them into debt and forcing them to cut their spending on food or heating, according to new research by a network of disabled people’s organisations and their allies.
The study by the Independent Living Strategy Group (ILSG) found that four in 10 (41 per cent) of those responding to a survey had experienced a substantial increase in charges over the last couple of years. Nearly half (43 per cent) had had to cut back on their spending on food to pay for care.

Celtic and their fans have been presented with an award for promoting football for everyone. The Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) presented the Celtic Disabled Supporter’s Association and the club were presented the special Collaboration Award. Celtic have worked hard to improve the experience of disabled fans and made menus at kiosks around the stadium more accessible for every disability.

The club recently introduced a new audio description system in their visually impaired supporters section to allow fans to enjoy commentary on the game, with the first use at the recent win over RB Leipzig. They also hired a dedicated disability access officer to work close with fans and help them at games.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell was thrilled to accept the award and promised to continue working with disabled fans in improving the matchday experience.

Margot Noel has a condition called misophonia, which literally means “hatred of sound”. It can be so disturbing that she has to wear headphones or ear plugs to protect herself.

Someone takes a bite out of an apple.

There’s a drawn-out crunch as the teeth break through the tough skin of the fruit.

The noise is unbearable for 28-year-old Margot Noel. “I have to leave or cover my ears. I just cannot hear it,” she says.

“It puts me in a state of distress, it makes me really anxious. My body feels there’s danger – I need to leave or I need to protect myself.”

Margot describes misophonia, as a brain dysfunction that causes common sounds to produce an intense emotional response – such as anger, panic, fear or distress. In people with this condition, the part of the brain that joins our senses with our emotions – the anterior insular cortex – is overly active and wired up to other parts of the brain in a different way. There are many possible trigger sounds, but some of the most common are related to food – crunching, slurping or sipping. Margot’s trigger sounds include the crunching of crisps, whispering, clicking noises made with pens, keyboard tapping and one of the worst – knuckle cracking.

Captioned Theatre: Behind the Scenes!
“Deafie Blogger” writes at British Deaf News about her experience of captioned theatre performances, and goes behind the scenes to find out how it works:

Last week was all about recognising the wonders of captions. As part of Captioning Awareness Week, I was invited by Stagetext to watch a captioned performance of Mamma Mia the Musical in London! I can’t recall watching a captioned Theatre show in the past, so it was certainly a new, exciting, inclusive experience for me. I’ve watched non-captioned shows before, and it is challenging not knowing what they’re saying or singing. Lipreading from a distance is almost impossible, and it’s stressful trying to work out the storyline. Therefore, we can never really sit back, relax and watch the show like our hearing peers can… but, captions open a whole new world and does all of the translating for you!

Don’t forget - we have a huge range of assistive hardware and software available to buy online at very competitive pricing on our website. We offer free trials for most of our software, and also the services of our professional, friendly and highly experienced fully DBS checked assistive technology trainers. We also offerWorkplace Strategy Trainingwhich is highly effective in increasing productivity, particularly for Access to Work clients. http://enablingtechnology.com

Event Cost: Free for HACS family members attending for first time, £10 for professional HACS members attending for the first time, £25 for non-members or any HACS members who have attended before

Booking in advance is required to attend. Please download booking form which can be found at the link below.

This workshop explores the differences associated with autism. You will have the opportunity to network with other families and ask questions in supportive surroundings. http://www.hacs.org.uk/events/understanding-autism-workshop-for-parentscarers-and-professionals-4/
Free Sainsbury’s Inclusive PE Webinars On Tuesday 11 December, the Youth Sport Trust will be hosting two free webinars aimed at teachers, trainee teachers and school staff. Please read the summary below and register depending on your experience. Feel free to attend either or both.

Webinar 1 – Introduction to Inclusive Physical Education (16:00 – 17:00) This one-hour webinar will guide you through the main elements of learning from the oversubscribed Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All Inclusive PE training 3-hour face to face workshop and introduces the free online learning available. It is aimed at primary and secondary teachers, teaching assistants and trainee teachers who perhaps are unable to attend a free face to face workshop or want a taster.

Webinar 2 – Inclusive PE: Your Questions Answered (17:00 – 18:00) This one-hour interactive webinar is aimed at people who have either attended an Inclusive PE workshop or completed the free online learning and would like further support with ideas to include specific young people. We encourage you to think about specific examples or challenges you have faced in trying to include a young person or group of students and join ready to share and hear ideas from our tutors who have experience teaching in primary, secondary and special school settings.

When it comes to attracting disabled talent, it’s essential that your recruitment team are trained on what is expected of them by your clients or the law. RIDI’s Training and Development award recognises the contribution that good training can make to the level of confidence of recruiters and how that can contribute to the candidate experience. This event is part of our RIDI Awards Category Showcase series, and is your opporunity to learn from our 2018 winners Training & Development Award winners Lloyd’s. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/disability-confident-training-development-tickets-51206399720?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

And finally…

Filmed over three-days in Wisconsin last year, this time-lapse film shows the development of a rather impressive snow sculpture:https://youtu.be/zOCpF5c_MLA